Chesapeake Style Online

Spring 2013 3
Spike’s Wildlife Almanac~American Goldeneye
By Spike Knuth
One of the hardiest
of our wintering
waterfowl is the
American, or
common goldeneye.
It usually doesn’t come south until
the waters turn hard up north. e
goldeneye is a medium-sized, stockylooking
duck. e male has a puy,
velvety blackish-green head, with
large white spots between its eyes
and bill. In ight it ashes a lot of
black and white, with its black wings
and white wing speculums and its
immaculate white under body. e
hen is a more brownish-gray and
gray above with white undersides,
grayish anks, a gray chest band,
forming a white neck collar. Its
head is puy as well but is a rich
brown in color. e feet of both are
bright yellow-orange and they have
dusky bills tipped with yellow.
Goldeneyes are fast, powerful
iers with quick-beating wings
producing a whistling sound
which gives rise to one of its
common names “whistle wings”
Gardening in Style~Poinsettias
By Kathey Brodtman
Over the winter,
most of us do
very little in the
garden. Spreading
some mulch and
trimming dead plants or branches
is about the extent of our projects.
Snow and cold weather usually cause
us to retreat inside keeping warm,
reading, eating and catching up on
jobs we let slide in warmer months.
It you have house plants they might
suer more over the winter while
we are inside staying warm with our
families, pets and projects. Hot dry
air can be hard on most house plants.
One of the beautiful tropical plants
that we enjoy over the Christmas
season is the poinsettia. A question
that comes up after the holiday is
what can I do with the poinsettia?
If you want to keep the plant,
you can treat it like any house plant
by providing bright light, moisture
and warmth. Keep the soil evenly
moist, but never soggy. Fertilize the
poinsettia every week, using an allpurpose
liquid fertilizer for indoor
plants, diluted to half strength. Once
the colorful leaves called bracts wilt
and fall o, cut the stems back to
about six inches tall. Put plant in a
dark place for part of the day and
keep barely moist. When the weather
becomes warm, usually in April,
put it outside in a bright place. It
will grow nicely over the summer if
you water and fertilize it regularly.
You may need to trim it and
remove dead parts. When the weather
begins to get cooler in October, bring
it inside and place it in complete
darkness in a closet for at least 12
hours every night. e plant should
be moved to a very bright location in
the day. is treatment will promote
color to appear in the top leaves—
bracts. e bracts naturally vary
in color in the wild and have been
cultivated for our enjoyment. e
small yellow parts in the center of the
bright leaves are actually the owers.
When I lived in California, I had
them in my yard blooming almost
constantly. ey resembled shrubs,
rather leggy and tall. In some areas
they make lovely tropical plants, but
In a small ock together, the
sound has almost a “jingling”
quality, which may be why
Chesapeake Bay hunters locally
call them “jinglers.” Goldeneyes
are seldom seen in large ocks.
Usually singles, pairs or trios, up
to six or eight birds at the most.
ey feed on seed clams,
small mussels, freshwater
shellsh, and some aquatic
vegetation. Not considered a
gourmet delight, their esh is very
strong and shy-avored. You can
skin them and remove the fat which
gets rid of much of the shy avor
to make them tolerable. ey favor
fresh water but in winter will spend
time in salt water. Look for them on
mostly fresh and brackish waters
our large colorful compact plants
are produced in a greenhouse
by special grafting techniques.
Poinsettias were brought to America
from Mexico and Central America.
Remember that the poinsettia is
slightly toxic to humans, cats and
dogs. ere is
a website that
addresses
many of the
toxic plants
for dogs, cats
and even
horses at
www.aspca.
org/Pet-care/
poisoncontrol/
Plants?plant_
toxicity=toxictodogs&page=1
Enjoy the
next few
weeks inside
and begin
planning
for spring
such as the Potomac, Rappahannock,
York, and James rivers.
eir spring migration north
begins as early as late February and
March. ey follow open water north
as warming spring temperatures
“unzip” ice-locked freshwater lakes
and rivers. Actually many never
come any farther south than they
have to with waters of the Great
Lakes Region hosting numerous
wintering goldeneyes. ey nest in
most of Canada from Newfoundland
west into Alaska. Tree cavities,
hollow stumps, old woodpecker
holes, and even man-made nest
boxes, preferably over the water of
freshwater ponds and lakes, are used.
Original art by Spike Knuth.
in the garden.
Kathey Brodtman photos.
kbrodtman@chesapeakestyle.com